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元 Yuan · 散曲 Sanqu song

山坡羊·西湖醉歌

Mountain Slope Sheep · Drunken Song at West Lake

刘致

Liu Zhi

感怀reflection 哲理Philosophy 闲适Leisure 写景Scenery

朝朝琼树，家家朱户，骄嘶过沽酒楼前路。
贵何如？
贱何如？
六桥都是经行处，花落水流深院宇。
闲，天定许；
忙，人自取。

Day by day like jade trees, house by house vermilion gates—
proudly neighing, I pass the road before the wine tower.
What of wealth? What of low estate?
The six bridges are all my haunts; fallen flowers and flowing water fill the deep courtyards.
Leisure—heaven grants it; busyness—men take it themselves.

Listen

Meaning

Every day like jade trees, every house with vermilion gates; drunk, I neigh proudly passing the road before the wine tower. What of riches? What of poverty? The six bridges are all places I pass through; the deep courtyards will end in fallen flowers and flowing water. Leisure is what heaven permits; busyness is what men bring on themselves.

日日如琼树仙境般繁华，家家都是朱漆门户，醉客纵马骄嘶着经过沽酒楼前的大路。富贵又如何？贫贱又如何？六桥处处都是往来经行之地，深宅大院也终有花落水流般消歇的时候。清闲，是上天所许；奔忙，是人自寻自取。

Appreciation

This song runs through with a 'drunken' mood, turning a familiar West-Lake topic to new meaning. The opening 'Day by day like jade trees, house by house vermilion gates' is mutual phrasing, with 'day by day' and 'house by house' writing the lake's splendour to the utmost; 'proudly neighing, I pass the road before the wine tower' writes the drunk guest urging his horse, free and unrestrained. 'What of wealth? What of low estate?' asks twice, forcing out the insight 'The six bridges are all my haunts; fallen flowers and flowing water fill the deep courtyards', borrowing the idiom 'fallen flowers and flowing water' to hint that riches cannot be kept. It closes with the aphoristic couplet 'Leisure—heaven grants it; busyness—men take it themselves', condensing the wit into eight words—undulating, sparse, full of stray delight.

【白话串讲】刘致在西湖喝酒：“朝朝琼树，家家朱户”——西湖边天天歌舞升平。“闲，天定许；忙，人自取”——闲是老天给的，忙是人自找的。【意象与手法】此曲以「醉」意贯穿全篇，于西湖熟题翻出新意。起二句「朝朝琼树，家家朱户」互文见义，以「朝朝」「家家」的对举极写湖山繁华；「骄嘶过沽酒楼前路」写醉客纵马沽酒，一个「骄」字写出醉后的放达自得，声态并作。「贵何如？贱何如？」两度设问，以极短的句式振起全篇，逼出「六桥都是经行处，花落水流深院宇」的悟想，暗用「落花流水」成语，喻富贵之不可恃。结以「闲，天定许；忙，人自取」的警策对句，将人生理趣凝于八字，一「许」一「取」，对照分明，跌宕萧散，逸趣盎然。【情感与主旨】刘致（约1258—1335后），字时中，号逋斋，石州宁乡（今山西中阳）人，元代前期散曲家，因曾依姚燧，自称「古洪刘时中」。此曲作于其任浙江行省都事期间，与友人郭振卿等西湖宴游、酒酣耳热之际，题曰《醉歌》或注「次郭振卿韵」。作者于醉眼朦胧之中纵览湖山繁华，由贵贱之别、荣枯之变生发出旷达感悟，将「贵贱无别、闲忙自取」的人生理趣熔于四十余字的短章之中，是元人小令说理的妙品。【名句点睛】常考：一、内容理解，概括西湖繁华与作者「贵贱无别、闲忙自取」的感悟；二、「贵何如？贱何如？」两度设问在结构上的振起作用；三、「花落水流」化用成语典故的理趣；四、结句「闲，天定许；忙，人自取」的警策凝练，与张养浩《山坡羊·潼关怀古》等作比较。

Background

Liu Zhi (c. 1258–after 1335), style Shizhong, name Bu'an, of Shizhou Ningxiang (today's Zhongyang, Shanxi), once followed Yao Sui and called himself 'Gu Hong Liu Shizhong'. He served as a clerk in the Hunan judicial office, magistrate of Yongxin, secretary in the Zhejiang provincial administration, and so on; about seventy small lyrics survive. This song was written during his Zhejiang provincial secretary days, when with friends Guo Zhenqing and others he feasted by West Lake, wine hot at the ear; titled 'Drunken Song, to Guo Zhenqing's rhyme', it draws from the splendid lake and hills a broad insight on wealth, poverty, leisure and busyness.

刘致（约1258—1335后），字时中，号逋斋，石州宁乡（今山西中阳）人，元代前期散曲家。他曾依附著名文学家姚燧，得其提携，自称「古洪刘时中」；历任湖南宪府吏、永新州判、浙江行省都事等职，现存小令七十余首，为元代前期曲坛的重要作家。此曲题作《西湖醉歌》，题下或注「次郭振卿韵」，可知是作者任浙江行省都事期间，与友人郭振卿等在杭州西湖宴游、酒酣耳热之际的唱和之作。元代的杭州承南宋故都之余绪，湖山繁华、市井绮丽，正是文人诗酒流连之地；刘致于醉眼朦胧之中纵览湖山，由眼前富贵繁华之景，生发出贵贱无别、闲忙由人的旷达感悟，遂成此篇。曲中「六桥」「深院宇」等语皆杭州西湖实景，可见其即景抒怀的性质，亦见元代文人在酒与景中安顿人生的时代心态。元代前期，散曲由民间俚歌进入文人创作，关汉卿、马致远、白朴、卢挚、姚燧、刘致等相继以曲写志，北曲遂成一代之文学。刘致出身北地，因文才见赏于姚燧，得入其门墙，后宦游江南，历任宪府吏、州判、都事等微职，其仕途虽不甚显达，而交游颇广，与贯云石、张养浩等皆有往还。浙江行省治所在杭州，西湖乃文人宴集之地，刘致任都事期间，公务之余常与同僚友人载酒湖山，此曲即其醉后即兴之作。题中「醉歌」二字确为全曲定调：醉眼观世，得失荣枯皆在朦胧之中，遂能于繁华之景中见出虚妄之理，此正是元代文人于酒中安顿人生的普遍姿态。

Art

此曲以「醉」意贯穿全篇，于西湖这一熟题中翻出新意，是元人小令说理的妙品。起二句「朝朝琼树，家家朱户」互文见义，以「朝朝」「家家」的对举极写湖山繁华、市井富丽，语带夸张而不失真切；「骄嘶过沽酒楼前路」写醉客纵马沽酒，一个「骄」字写出醉后的放达自得，「嘶」字以马代人，声态并作，满纸酒气。接着「贵何如？贱何如？」两度设问，以极短的句式振起全篇，逼出「六桥都是经行处，花落水流深院宇」的悟想：六桥本为众人经行之地，深宅大院亦终有花落水流、繁华消歇之时，富贵之不可恃，于眼前景中自然见出。结以「闲，天定许；忙，人自取」的警策对句，把全曲的理趣凝于八字，一「许」一「取」，对照分明，跌宕萧散，逸趣盎然，是元曲「以俗为雅、以理入曲」的典型笔法。全曲结构为「铺景—设问—悟理—警策」四层：起处铺陈繁华，以「朝朝」「家家」叠字对举，音节流丽；中段以三字短句设问，节奏骤紧；继而以七字长句写花落水流之象，复归舒缓；结处再以短句对仗收束，一紧一松、一放一收，跌宕生姿。语言上，此曲熔口语与文辞于一炉：「骄嘶」「沽酒楼」「深院宇」皆市井家常语，而「琼树」「六桥」「经行」又带文雅之气，雅俗相济，正是元曲「本色当行」的本色。尤为难得者，作者以「醉」字统摄全篇而始终不着一「醉」字，醉态全从骄嘶、设问、警句中自然透出，此即以神写形之法，最见曲家手段。

Allusions

The allusions here are blended without a seam. 'Jade tree' originally names a fairy tree by the Quicksand of the Kunlun west; here it stands for the lake-shore's splendid sights; 'the six bridges' are the outer-lake six bridges Su Shi built at Hangzhou West Lake (Yingbo, Suolan, Wangshan, Yadi, Dongpu, Kuahong), fixing the place. 'Fallen flowers and flowing water' borrows Li Yu's 'flowing water, fallen flowers, spring is gone' and the idiom 'fallen flowers and flowing water', hinting that glory and riches end in extinction. The song uses common speech; the allusions melt darkly into scene-language and wit-language.

此曲用典化用无痕，正合元散曲尚自然、忌堆垛的作风。「琼树」本指神话中生于昆仑西流沙之滨的仙树，传说其花可食、食之长生，此处借指西湖岸边繁花似锦的景物，以仙树喻凡景，倍增华丽之感；「朱户」本指王侯贵族的朱漆大门，化用古语「朱门」的富贵意象。「六桥」实指杭州西湖外湖的六座桥，即映波、锁澜、望山、压堤、东浦、跨虹，为北宋苏轼任杭州知州时所筑，历代咏西湖之作屡屡及之，此处点明地理，使全曲落于实处。「花落水流」化用南唐李煜《浪淘沙》「流水落花春去也，天上人间」之意，兼取成语「落花流水」，暗喻富贵荣华终归消歇。全曲以常语入曲，典实暗融于景语、理语之中，不见生僻，而韵味自厚，正是元人小令用典的高境。「琼树」之典，《列子·汤问》载昆仑山「珠玕之树」，《淮南子》亦有「琼树」之说，后世多以琼树喻仙界或贵盛之景；刘致以之写西湖岸树，谓其繁丽如仙家之树，实为夸饰之辞，与「朱户」的富贵之色相映成趣。「六桥」之名自苏轼筑堤始，堤上六桥各有佳名，历代题咏不绝，白居易「未能抛得杭州去，一半勾留是此湖」、苏轼「欲把西湖比西子」等句早已把西湖写入文人集体记忆，刘致拈出六桥，正以地名唤起读者对湖山盛景的联想。「花落水流」化用李煜「流水落花春去也」，「天定许」则暗含「富贵在天」的旧谚，全曲几乎句句有来历而句句如家常语，正是元曲「化典为俗、以俗为雅」的妙处。

Commentary

Mr. Zhao Changping praised this song: 'turning a drunken eye and a familiar topic to new meaning is one wonder; not constrained by length, showing a small world's coming-and-going is yet another'. Modern talk of Liu Shizhong's sanqu calls it 'undulating, sparse, full of stray delight'; this piece writes life's wit in a West-Lake drunken song, a distinct voice among Yuan small lyrics.

此曲自来为论者所重。赵昌平先生评此曲「以醉眼与熟题翻出新意，是其奇处之一；不为篇幅所窘，于小天地中见驰骋往复之功，是又一大奇处」，可谓的评——西湖题咏汗牛充栋，刘致却能借醉眼翻出贵贱、忙闲的理趣，且于四十余字的小令中往复驰骋、收放自如，非高手不能为。近人论刘时中散曲，称其「跌宕萧散，逸趣盎然」，此篇正可当之：全曲由繁华之景入设问之理，再由落花流水之象收束于闲忙自取的警句，章法一跌三宕，语言爽朗明快，兼具散曲的通俗本色与文人的思致。在元代散曲说理一脉中，此曲与张养浩《山坡羊·潼关怀古》等篇并称，然张作悲慨沉郁、以怀古写兴亡，此作旷达萧散、以醉眼观荣枯，同曲牌而异面目，足见《山坡羊》一调之容量与元人曲风之多元。此曲在元明曲选中屡有收录，《乐府群珠》《雍熙乐府》等皆著录之，可见其流传之广。论者多将此曲与张养浩《山坡羊·潼关怀古》《山坡羊·骊山怀古》并称，以为《山坡羊》一体说理之双璧；然张作以「兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦」写历史之苍凉，刘作以「闲，天定许；忙，人自取」写人生之自决，一外向而一内省，恰见元代文人面对乱世的两副面孔。就文学史意义而言，此曲以四十余字的短章写出「贵贱无别、闲忙自取」的人生哲学，是散曲「以理入曲」的代表作，其语言之爽朗、机趣之流转，皆开后世「曲中议论」一派的先声，在元代散曲说理传统中占据重要位置。

Prosody

Form Sanqu · middle-lü Mountain Slope Sheep (small lyric)散曲·中吕《山坡羊》（小令）

Rhyme Rhymes on 'gates, road, estate, estate, courtyards, grant, take' (yu-mu rhyme; northern song level-oblique mixed)押鱼模韵：户、路、如、如、宇、许、取，北曲平仄通押，句句用韵

Tone pattern Middle-lü mode; line-pattern 4,4,7,3,3,7,7,1,3,1,3中吕宫，句式为四、四、七、三、三、七、七、一、三、一、三，长短对句错落有致

Reading note Mountain Slope Sheep has eleven lines, nine rhymes; closes with two groups of long-short couplets, fit for argument and lyric.《山坡羊》为北曲中吕宫常用曲牌，小令全曲十一句九韵，句式以四、四、七、三、三、七、七、一、三、一、三的长短错落为特征，尤以末三句「一、三、一、三」的短句对仗（此处为「闲，天定许；忙，人自取」）最为特殊，宜于在收束处作警策语。此曲押鱼模韵，「户、路、如、如、宇、许、取」句句用韵，一韵到底，北曲韵部平仄通押（「如」为平声，余皆仄声），声情于平仄交替中见顿挫。中吕宫调性高下闪赚，宜于抒写感慨议论；刘致以此调写西湖醉歌，起处四字句、七字句铺排繁华，声调流丽；中段三字短句「贵何如？贱何如？」陡然一顿，如醉客驻马发问，节奏骤变；结处「一、三、一、三」的短句对仗，击节有声，铿然收束。全曲声随情转，情由声出，于长短错落的句式间见驰骋往复之功，是《山坡羊》曲牌声情结合的典范之作。

Line by line

朝朝琼树，家家朱户，骄嘶过沽酒楼前路

Every day, like jade trees; every house, red doors; rearing, neighing, they pass the road before the wineshop.

日日如琼树仙境般繁华，家家都是朱漆门户，醉客纵马骄嘶着经过沽酒楼前的大路。

Day after day, splendor as of jade trees; every household, vermilion doors; the drunk rider's horse, head high and neighing, passes the road before the wineshop.

起三句以互文与夸张铺写西湖岸边的繁华盛景。「朝朝琼树」言日日如仙境，「家家朱户」言户户皆富贵，两两对举，不写湖山本身，而借岸上人家的华美点出湖山之盛，是以旁衬主的写法。「骄嘶」二字最为传神：马之骄嘶本为醉客狂态所激发，作者不写人醉，而写马骄，借物写人，醉后的放达、自得、旁若无人尽在其中；「沽酒楼前路」点出醉客的身份与来处，市井气息扑面而来。三句由景及人、由人及态，声光并作，为下文的设问蓄足势能——繁华如此，转瞬可消，这正是作者醉眼所见的全貌。

The opening three lines, in cross-reference and hyperbole, spread the splendor of the West Lake shore. 'Every day, like jade trees' — each day a fairyland; 'every house, red doors' — every household wealthy, the two lines set against each other, not writing the lake and hills themselves, but naming their glory through the beauty of the shore houses, setting off the main through the side. The words 'rearing, neighing' are the most vivid: the horse's proud neigh is called forth by the drunken rider's wildness; the poet writes not the drunken man but the proud horse, writing the man through the beast — the abandon, the self-satisfaction, the not-giving-a-damn all within; 'the road before the wineshop' marks the drunkard's station and source, the market air rushing to the face. Three lines, scene to person, person to pose, sound and light together, charging the opening question below — splendor like this, gone in an instant, which is the whole seen through the poet's drunken eyes.

贵何如？贱何如？

What of wealth? What of low estate?

富贵又如何？贫贱又如何？

What is rank, after all? What is want, after all?

「贵何如？贱何如？」两句四字，是全曲的枢纽。两个「何如」连发，以设问逼出对荣枯的反思：富贵与贫贱，在醉眼之中究竟有何分别？这一问看似平淡，实则截断众流——前文铺写的繁华，在此问面前顿显虚妄；后文的落花流水、闲忙之辨，皆由此问生出。句式上以三字短句陡然收住七言长句的铺叙，节奏一顿，如醉客猛然驻马发问，声情并作。设问而不作答，更增回环往复之致：答案不在字面，而在读者随后的领会之中。此二句是元曲「以俗语入曲而理趣自深」的典范，浅白之中见思致。

'What, after all, is high rank? What, after all, is low station?' — two lines of four characters, the hinge of the song. Two 'after all' in succession, a question forcing out the reflection on rise and fall: rank and want, what difference, after all, to the drunken eye? The question seems plain, yet it cuts across the current: the splendor spread above is, before this question, suddenly void; the falling blossoms and flowing water, the idle and busy below, all grow from this question. In form, three short lines suddenly closing the spread of seven-character lines, the rhythm a beat, like a drunkard reining in his horse to ask, voice and feeling together. Asked without answer, the looping aftertone the greater: the answer not in the words, but in the reader's understanding to come. The two lines are a model of Yuan qu's 'vernacular entering the song, the thought deep of itself,' the shallow holding depth.

六桥都是经行处，花落水流深院宇

All six bridges are ground I have walked; blossoms fall, waters flow — and the deep courtyards too.

六桥处处都是往来经行之地，深宅大院也终有花落水流般消歇的时候。

The six bridges are all ground many have trod; yet blossoms fall, waters flow — even in the deep courtyards.

「六桥都是经行处」以实景写理：西湖六桥本是众人游赏经行之地，富贵者与贫贱者同样在此往来，桥不因贵贱而异，此句已暗含贵贱无别的意思；「花落水流深院宇」更进一层，谓朱门深院也逃不过花落水流、繁华消歇的结局，以「深院宇」与「花落水流」对举，写出富贵之不可恃。两句一宽一紧：前句以空间之平等破贵贱之见，后句以时间之流逝破永恒之执，理趣层层递进。妙在作者不下一字议论，而全凭眼前景物自证其理，景中寓理、理随景现，正是散曲说理的上乘境界。

'All six bridges are ground I have walked' writes principle in fact: the six bridges of West Lake are the ground all men walk, the rich and the poor alike passing, the bridge the same for rank and want — the line already holds the meaning of no difference between them; 'blossoms fall, waters flow — and the deep courtyards too' goes further: the deep, vermilion courtyards cannot escape the end where blossoms fall and waters flow, splendor fading; 'deep courtyards' set against 'blossoms fall, waters flow,' writing wealth's insecurity. Two lines, open and tight: the first breaks rank and want through space's equality, the second breaks eternity's obsession through time's flow, the principle advancing layer by layer. The genius lies in the poet's not writing one word of argument, but letting the scenery before the eyes prove the principle, principle within scenery, scenery showing principle — the highest realm of sanqu reasoning.

花落水流深院宇

The six bridges are all my haunts; fallen flowers and flowing water fill the deep courtyards

深宅大院之中，落花随水流去，终归消歇。

Within the deep courtyards, fallen blossoms drift on the water, at last fading away.

此句为全曲最富诗意的悟想。作者不说「富贵终归消散」的抽象道理，而拈出「花落水流」四字，化用李煜「流水落花春去也」之意，以眼前可感的落花流水之象，写出富贵荣华如春花般易谢、如流水般不返的必然。「深院宇」三字点出消歇的对象正是豪门贵宅，与起句「家家朱户」遥相呼应，形成繁华与衰歇的首尾对照。「花落水流」本为成语，入曲而不觉其熟，反因其日常化而更觉真切；「深院宇」以静衬动，朱门深闭而落花流水自来去，富贵之虚妄于不言中自见，理趣深长。

This line is the song's most poetic enlightenment. The poet does not say the abstract truth that 'wealth at last dissolves,' but takes up the four characters 'blossoms fall, waters flow,' adapting Li Yu's 'flowing water, fallen blossoms, spring gone,' writing through the palpable blossoms and water before the eyes the necessity that splendor fades like spring flowers, and returns no more like flowing water. The words 'deep courtyards' mark the object of the fading as the great houses, answering the opening 'every household, red doors' from afar, forming the首尾 contrast of splendor and decay. 'Blossoms fall, waters flow,' a set phrase, enters the song without feeling hackneyed, the more true for its everydayness; 'deep courtyards,' stillness setting off motion, the vermilion gates shut and the blossoms and water come and go of themselves — the vanity of wealth self-evident, the principle deep.

闲，天定许；忙，人自取

Leisure—heaven grants it; busyness—men take it themselves

清闲，是上天所许；奔忙，是人自寻自取。

Leisure — heaven grants it; busyness — the man chooses it.

结句八字是全曲的警策所在，将人生理趣凝于极简的对句中。「闲，天定许」谓清闲非强求可得，须天时人事相凑，是顺其自然的态度；「忙，人自取」谓奔忙多为人心自造，汲汲于富贵功名者自陷于忙，是反求诸己的省察。一「许」一「取」，一被动一主动，对照分明，把贵贱无别、荣枯有时的人生感悟落到实处，化为可供践履的生活智慧。句式上「一、三、一、三」的短长错落，如醉后击节，铿然有声，收束全曲而余味不尽。八字浅白如话，而理趣深长，正是元散曲「以俗为雅」的极致，亦见作者达观自适的人格底色。

The closing eight characters are the song's aphorism, condensing life's wisdom into the briefest couplet. 'Idle — heaven has granted': leisure cannot be forced, needing the meeting of time and circumstance, an attitude of following nature; 'busy — the man has chosen': busyness is largely the self-made heart, the man greedy for rank and wealth sinking himself in rush, an inquiry turned inward. One 'granted,' one 'chosen,' one passive one active, the contrast clear, landing the life-understanding of no difference between rank and want, rise and fall in their season, on the solid ground of livable wisdom. In form, the short-long cadence of one-three-one-three, like a drunkard beating time, ringing, closing the song with the aftertone lingering. Eight characters, plain as speech, the principle deep — the extreme of Yuan sanqu's 'making the vernacular elegant,' and the poet's own detached, self-possessed character.

Study

Word focus

骄嘶 'Proudly neighing' writes the drunk guest urging his horse and whinnying; it figures both horse and man, conveying the drunk guest's wild freedom, adding life. 「骄嘶过沽酒楼前路」之「骄嘶」是写醉客纵马的传神之笔。「骄」写马的骄健，更写人的骄态——酒酣耳热之际，纵马长街，意气自得，旁若无人；「嘶」本为马鸣之声，此处以声写人，马之嘶鸣正是醉客狂放之情的喷发。二字连用，声态并作，把醉后的放达不羁写得活灵活现。尤为妙者，作者不直写人醉，而借马之骄嘶写人，是「借物写人」的手法；马骄因主人之醉，主醉因酒兴之浓，一层层推溯，满纸酒气而无一「酒」字。这个「骄」字在元曲中常见于写少年豪纵之态，此处移用于醉客，兼得豪与放两面，是炼字的佳例，也为此曲定下醉意淋漓的基调。

琼树 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「朝朝琼树」之「琼树」本指神话中昆仑西流沙之滨的仙树，传说其枝可栖凤凰、其花食之长生，词人用以喻西湖岸边的繁华景物，以仙树之珍奇衬湖山之富丽。「琼」字本义为美玉，入词自带晶莹华美之色，与下句「朱户」的红紫之色相映，设色秾丽，一派盛世繁华的气象。妙在以「朝朝」领起，谓日日如此、无日不然，繁华的恒常感油然而生——而这种恒常感恰是下文「花落水流」所要打破的幻象，故「琼树」之喻实为后文理趣的铺垫。此字取典而不晦涩，华丽而不堆砌，正见元曲用典雅俗相济的特点。

经行 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「六桥都是经行处」之「经行」本指佛教徒在一定地点往来行走以调身调心，后泛指行走往来，此处写六桥为众人往来游赏之地。「经行」二字看似平常，实含深意：其一，以「都是」领起，谓贵者贱者、忙者闲者皆自此桥经过，桥不因人而异，暗含贵贱无别的理趣；其二，「经行」带有随缘来去、不作久留的意味，与「深院宇」的固守形成对照——人不过是六桥的过客，富贵不过是一时的栖止，来去之间，荣枯自见。二字于平常处见思致，是元曲以浅语寓深理的代表，也是全曲由景入理的关键字眼。

自取 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「忙，人自取」之「自取」是结句的收束字，谓奔忙乃人自寻自取，非天所命。一个「取」字写出人的主动性：忙与不忙，本在人心一念之间，汲汲于富贵者自投于忙网，达观者则能守闲守静，故「自取」既是事实的陈述，亦是委婉的规劝。「自取」与上句「天定许」的「许」字相对：天之所许者闲，人之所取者忙，一顺天、一逆天，对照之间，作者的褒贬与劝戒不言自明。此字浅白如话，而分量极重，把全曲的理趣收束于人心自决的警醒之中，令人读后自省，正是警策语应有的力量。